Firefly Studios

Firefly Studios is a developer and publisher.

Firefly Studios Webpage, Facebook

Firefly Studios is a small UK-based development studio founded in 1999. The company is headquartered in London and employs around 20 full-time staff, but since 2004 it has also had a branch in Canton, Connecticut, and an operations office in Aberdeen, Scotland. Since 2012, as digital distribution has become more important, the independent studio has also published most of its own games. Since June 2021, Firefly Studios has been owned by Devolver Digital.

From the very beginning, Firefly Studios has focused on strategy and simulation games. Aside from games like Space Colony and CivCity: Rome, the studio's main brand has almost consistently been the Stronghold series - often described as a medieval castle simulator that smartly blends city-building and real-time strategy. Alongside the main entries, the series has also seen several standalone expansions, an MMO spin-off, and multiple remasters. Even with their deep mechanics and fun gameplay, the Stronghold games have often been criticized for technical issues and outdated visuals.

History

Stronghold - starting on a high note

Firefly Studios was founded in August 1999 by Simon Bradbury, Eric Ouellette, and David Lester - developers who had previously worked at Impressions Games on the acclaimed Caesar and Lords of the Realm series. Shortly after forming the studio, the creators shared their motto on the website: drawing on their experience with strategy and simulation games, they aimed to create engaging, ever-evolving worlds for players, combining detailed visuals, deep gameplay, interesting characters, and easy-to-learn rules. The spirit of these declarations carried over into Stronghold, released in 2001 by Take 2 Interactive, which became a major commercial success and launched the studio's key game series, developed over the following years. A year later, a sequel - or more accurately, a standalone expansion - set in a slightly different setting, Stronghold: Crusader, was released. It repeated the success of the original and cemented the studio's strong position among indie developers.

Gradual fade

In 2003, Firefly Studios offered something completely different: the sci-fi economic strategy game Space Colony, promoted with the simple minigame Alien Horde. Although the game wasn't a massive hit, it received solid reviews, built a dedicated fan base, and was remastered twice in the years following its release. Meanwhile, Firefly's developers decided to return to their famous franchise, and in 2005-2006, 2K Games (part of Take 2 Interactive) released a full sequel, Stronghold 2, along with a standalone expansion, Stronghold Legends. Neither, however, managed to top the popularity of the original, and both received notably low Metacritic scores - 63% and 57%, respectively. In 2006, CivCity: Rome, developed in collaboration with Firaxis Games, was released. While it borrowed mechanics from the famous Caesar series, it received a lukewarm response from both critics and players.

After the weaker sales of these games, Firefly Studios parted ways with its previous publisher, Take 2 Interactive, and, in collaboration with Gamecock Media Group (and later SouthPeak Interactive), began work on an RPG called Dungeon Hero. Shortly after, however, the project was put on hold and eventually canceled. So, in 2008, Firefly's developers decided to revamp one of their older titles, releasing Stronghold: Crusader Extreme. Even with a revamped graphics engine, the game still felt visually outdated and was met with harsh reviews, earning just 40% on Metacritic. The third full installment, released in 2011, aimed to turn things around for Stronghold. However, this time, numerous technical issues held the game back, leading to another setback for Firefly.

Meanwhile, Firefly Studios also started work on a spin-off of its flagship series: the free-to-play MMO strategy game Stronghold Kingdoms. A beta version of the game went online in November 2010, with the full release following in October 2012. Despite its earlier struggles with remasters, between 2012 and 2015 Firefly released upgraded versions of several older titles, including Stronghold HD, Stronghold: Crusader HD, and Space Colony HD. In 2014, Stronghold: Crusader II debuted to a positive reception from both critics and players, finally ending the studio's long period of stagnation. A year later, Firefly Studios announced work on the next full-fledged entry in its flagship series, Stronghold Warlords. Around the same time, Stronghold Kingdoms also debuted on popular mobile devices, becoming the studio's first title released on a platform other than PC. That same year, a special edition of the second Stronghold installment, Stronghold 2: Steam Edition, was released on Steam. Additionally, an original dungeon crawler, action game, and RTS hybrid titled MetaMorph: Dungeon Creatures debuted in Early Access; however, after a few months, its development was halted, and the creators decided to fully focus on Stronghold: Warlords. From 2019 onward, the developers began sharing increasingly detailed information about the project, which - unlike its predecessors - was set in the Far East. The release of the project was delayed twice, and it ultimately debuted on PC in March 2021.

An attempt at a fresh start

Known as Stronghold: Warlords, the title was warmly received by both players and reviewers; on Metacritic, its average score more than two weeks after release was 69%. As can be seen in our review, among others, players received a solid game that didn't offer any major innovations, and while its graphics were colorful and clear, they could feel a bit dated. Despite all this, it seemed that after the failures of previous installments, both the franchise and the team behind it were starting to regain momentum. The studio's next project was the MMO strategy game Romans: Age of Caesar. In September 2021, open beta testing began for the title, a spiritual successor to the earlier Stronghold Kingdoms.

Return to roots

In June 2021, Devolver Digital acquired Firefly Studios. Interestingly, although the two companies never collaborated directly, years ago Firefly Studios worked with Gathering of Developers and Gamecock Media Group, whose founders would later go on to create Devolver. Under the new ownership, the Firefly Studios team decided to return to its roots. In July 2023, the studio announced a new remastered version of the original Stronghold. Players didn't have to wait long for the team's first release, as Stronghold: Definitive Edition launched on PC in November.

The game was very well received by both players and critics, as reflected by "very positive" reviews on Steam and an average score of 80/100 on Metacritic. Thanks to the game's popularity, the developers quickly moved to continue its development, preparing free updates and paid DLC. In January 2025, Firefly Studios announced that the remaster of the original Stronghold had reached half a million players.

The developers had to strike while the iron was hot and work on a remastered version of Stronghold: Crusader. Announced in January 2025, Stronghold: Crusader - Definitive Edition was scheduled for release on PC in mid-July 2025, featuring upgraded graphics and sound, along with new campaigns, skirmish maps, characters, and units.